Assistant Travis Young takes offer to coach professional Hungarian team

story courtesy of acadiau.ca on 25/06/2013 4:08 pm

travis_youngWOLFVILLE, N.S. – Acadia men’s hockey coach Darren Burns will be searching for a new assistant coach in the coming months prior to the 2013-14 season.

Assistant coach Travis Young will be heading to Hungary to head up the Miskolc Polar Bears. Young, who played for the Axemen for two seasons beginning in 2004 before retiring from hockey in his third year due to reoccurring concussions, was named as a CIS All-Rookie during the 2004-2005 season. Young became an assistant coach with the Axemen during the 2007-2008 season.

In his six years as an assistant coach, Young coordinated Acadia hockey’s summer camps along with working on Axemen’s special teams including the powerplay and penalty killing units.

Young will join the Polar Bears beginning August 1st. The Miskolc Polar Bears, centered in Miskolc, Hungary, play in the MOL league – an international ice hockey league organized for clubs based in Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. The league, founded in 2008, is sponsored by the Hungarian petro-chemical company the MOL Group.

While Axemen head coach Darren Burns was sorry to hear about the news from Young earlier this week, he was thrilled to see him move on with his coaching endeavours. “I am extremely happy for Travis. Although you never want to lose such a quality individual who knows so much about hockey and I am very happy he is getting this opportunity” pointed out Burns.

Adding, “He was a huge part of our program as a player and as a coach. His hockey mind and loyalty as a person always made him a great fit with the Axemen program. Becoming a head coach is usually a goal of assistant coaches. He certainly deserves this opportunity. His efforts in helping develop young players at our camps, while his work with the Acadia Minor Hockey Association has allowed him to leave a positive mark in our community.Β  We wish him the best of luck and know he will achieve success in his new job”.

Young had mixed feelings of the decision to accept the job in Hungary. “It was a very difficult choice to leave Acadia as it has been home for the last nine years and Darren gave me a great opportunity to get involved in the coaching side of the game when I was forced to stop playing, but the chance to become a Head Coach in a professional league was tough to pass up”, noted Young. “It was also always a goal of mine to play professionally in Europe after my university career ended and I didn’t get that chance due to some injuries, so this seems like a great opportunity to see a different part of the world while also gaining some very valuable coaching experience”.

The opportunity to coach in Hungary has also opened the doors at the end of March 2014 for Young to work with the Hungarian Under 18 National team for the month of April and coach at the World Championships Division 1 Group B.

New York Islanders/Bridgeport Signing: Chris Bruton, fighter and AcadiaΒ alum

By @LHHockey on May 21 2013, 2:17p http://www.lighthousehockey.com/

The beloved ex-Peoria fighter gets his first NHL contract.

Chris BrutonThe New York Islanders announced another low-on-the-radar signing today that may have you asking yourself, “Who?” As is typical in these late-bloomer additions to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, his history and path to the pros is an adventurous one.

The signing is Chris Bruton, who is essentially an undersized AHL fighter with some modest hockey skill. (See his ample fight card at hockeyfights.com, going back to Spokane in the WHL.)

But he gets a two-way contract — i.e., an NHL deal — so he at least potentially could see time with the big club. This is part of the annual rotation of muscle guys we see in the AHL, with some of them receiving that added carrot of a two-way deal.Read more »

ECHL’s Stockton Thunder grab OT win with Clark winning goal

story courtesy of acadiau.ca 06/05/2013 5:50 pm

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Former AUS and CIS men’s hockey Most Valuable Player of the 2011-12 season has once againandrew_clark_action found success in hockey, this time with the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League in Stockton, CA.

Named as an AUS All-Star this past season, Clark finished second in the AUS this season with 14 goals and 18 assists in 28 games. He hit an AUS career high of 15 goals and 24 assists last season as the conference’s point leader and CIS MVP.Read more »

A great influence on so many people

story courtesy of the chronicle herald, May 4, 2013 – 10:12pm By STEVE BEZANSON Sports Reporter

conniemacneil

Connie MacNeil passed away this past Thursday. He was 84. This photo was taken at Acadia Arena in January 2010, prior to the 60th anniversary of him scoring three goals in a six-second span. (ERIC WYNNE / Staff / File)

His record of 3 goals in 6 seconds during an Annapolis Valley Senior B Hockey League playoff game at the old Acadia Arena on Feb. 27, 1950 might always be cause for debate among hockey purists.

But one thing that will never be disputed is the character and charisma Connie MacNeil exhibited as an educator, academic administrator, coach and athlete. A native of Reserve Mines, MacNeil, 84, passed away on Thursday.

β€œI just saw Connie in church last week and he was his normal, cheerful self,” said Nova Scotian sports historian Burton Russell, a lifelong friend of MacNeil. β€œAnd to suddenly hear he’s gone, I’m just shocked. But he sure had a great life and a great influence on so many people.Read more »

Character, experience key for LU men

By Ben Leeson, Sudbury Star

Craig Duncanson is the new head coach of the men's hockey team at Laurentian University. JOHN LAPPA/THE SUDBURY STAR/QMI AGENCY

Craig Duncanson is the new head coach of the men’s hockey team at Laurentian University. JOHN LAPPA/THE SUDBURY STAR/QMI AGENCY

While building the first Laurentian University men’s hockey team in 13 years, head coach Craig Duncanson has focused as much on what’s between prospective players’ ears and inside their chests as on what they can do with their hands and feet.

“We have recruited extensively and surrounded ourselves with as many quality ju nior players as possible, guys who have been captains in leagues across Ontario and a few from out west and from Quebec,” Duncanson said. “These are leaders, captains and that’s how we’re trying to create that culture, by adding good character people.Read more »

_58520390_panthers

22 April 2013 Last updated at 10:49 GMT

Nottingham Panthers: Brandon Benedict re-signs

Nottingham Panthers import forward Brandon Benedict has signed a new contract to stay with the treble-winning side for a third season.

Benedict, 30, who joined the Panthers in 2011 from Belfast, played 65 games in Nottingham’s Elite League, Challenge Cup and play-off triumphs last term.

Coach Corey Neilson, who recently signed a contract extension, said retaining the Canadian is a major coup.

“He was a primary target for us,” Neilson revealed.Read more »

T.J. Colello Published on January 01, 2013

Glace Bay defenceman has skated for Klagenfurt AC the past five seasons

SYDNEY β€” Kirk Furey has had a long, professional hockey career. He’s played at a few levels in North America and has skated in Europe for the past nine seasons, so you would think he’s seen it all.

fureyThat was until he skated alongside 6-8, 227-pound Buffalo Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers.
β€œHe’s probably the tallest guy I’ve ever played with and bar none the best skater for a guy that big,” said the 36-year-old blue-liner from Glace Bay. β€œHe’s unbelievable. He’s like a gazelle out there.β€œPersonally, I don’t know if you’ll ever see a guy skate like that again at that size. I’ve been away a long time and I watch NHL games on television. I remember watching him in his first year and saying to myself β€˜Oh my God,’ but to play with him, he can skate.”Read more »

FORMER ECHL MVP ADDED TO SOLAR BEARS ROSTER

Orlando, FL – The Orlando Solar Bears announced today that they have agreed to terms with forward Kevin Baker.

player-bakerBaker (6’1”, 192 lbs.) brings proven goal-scoring ability to the Solar Bears. The Kingston, Ontario, native was a member of the Stockton Thunder last season and led his team in goals (27) and points (56) while finishing fourth in assists (29). He posted 39 points in 39 games in Italy two seasons ago, and spent both 2008-09 and 2009-10 as a member of the Florida Everblades. During the 2008-09 season, Baker led the ECHL with 57 goals and 102 points while being named the league’s MVP and was selected as an ECHL First Team All-Star.

His ECHL experience includes stops in Florida, Texas, and Johnstown, totaling 168 goals, 185 assists, and 353 points in 317 games played. Along with his First-Team All-Star selection in 2008-09, Baker was chosen as a First-Team All-Star in 2006-07 when he picked up 81 points (35 goals, 45 assists) in 62 games with the Texas Wildcatters.Β Β  Β Read more »

UPEI PANTHERS LOSE ASSISTANT TO NOTRE DAME

Story courtesy ofΒ hockeyscene.com CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI, July 20, 2012

Kris MacdonaldMidget and junior hockey programs are accustomed to losing top players to the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Saskatchewan and it’s Hounds and Argos hockey teams. Now a university men’s hockey team has lost a coach to the hockey factory.
University of Prince Edward Island Panthers assistant coach Kris MacDonald has accepted an offer to work with the midget hockey teams and teach at the co-educational, Catholic, college preparatory boarding school for students in Grades 9-12.Read more »

PaulMcFarlandJuly 19, 2012 (WOLFVILLE, N.S.) – Former Axemen hockey player Paul McFarland was appointed as an assistant coach for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals on Wednesday.McFarland, who will work under newly appointed head coach DJ Smith, left a previous profession in accountancy to complete an Education degree at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, before landing the coaching position with the Generals.While at Acadia from 2007 to 2010, McFarland captained the Axemen for three of his four seasons. His experience at Acadia has guided his aspirations to enter field coaching of Canadian hockey.

“Acadia has given me so much, and is a big part of who I am today. I am forever grateful for the leadership opportunities and responsibility Coach Darren Burns gave me being at Acadia. The skills I was able to develop will hopefully make me a better coach”.Read more »